I've Always Found Him Interesting
by BlackthornUnicorn98
Summary: When Draco tries to deliver a cursed ring to Professor Dumbledore on Voldemort's orders, he is accidentally cursed himself, and lies unconscious in a hospital bed. Basically, this is my take on what would have happened if Draco had been hurt instead of Ron, and Hermione was at his bedside. Set during sixth year. Rewrite of a HBP scene involved.


**I've Always Found Him Interesting**

I remember the day all too well.

It was a warm spring afternoon, and the castle was abuzz with activity. Classes had been cancelled that day, and all of my schoolmates were preparing for the Quidditch game that afternoon. Slytherin versus Ravenclaw, that was the match to come. I had to admit, it was a nice change for me. Not only would I get to see my friend Cho play as Ravenclaw Seeker for the very first time, as well as sit up in the stands with Ronald and Harry instead of watching _them_ play for once, but I also got to cheer on my fellow sixth-year Draco Malfoy, who also happened to be the Slytherin Seeker.

I would cheer for Draco, yes. But it would have to be a silent cheer.

If Harry and Ron ever saw me supporting the Slytherin Quidditch Team, much less Draco Malfoy himself, I knew that they would somehow find a way to sneak Puking Pastilles or some other horrid Weasley concoction into my orange juice at breakfast. They hated the boy with every ounce of energy that they had, and to be honest, I couldn't exactly blame them. But although he did have a tendency to be a self-absorbed, dreadful, and spoiled little brat, there was a more sensitive side to Draco that barely anybody else ever got to see.

No one but me, that is.

It had started when Professor Snape had paired us up for a project in Potions, spitefully knowing that Draco made me miserable beyond all belief, but as the project progressed, I realized that there was more to him than I'd thought. And contrary to popular belief, Draco also happened to be particularly skilled at Potions...a fact that I was forced to admit to myself after he managed to salvage our Pepperup Potion and earn us both some much-needed extra credit _and_ top marks.

I hated to admit it, but he was a pretty smart person overall.

And as I sat there in the window of the corridor, swinging my legs back and forth and looking out into the distance, I began to feel more excited about the upcoming match and seeing him in action.

"Hermione!"

I turned around to see Harry, running toward me. "Hello, Harry," I said. "Are you ready for the match?"

He nodded. "Am I ever! I'm ready to see Ravenclaw beat the hell out of Slytherin. Aren't you?"

_Not really._ "Sure," I replied. "Shall we go, then?"

He grinned an uncharacteristically wide grin, and looped his arm through mine, which sort of startled me. We took off running toward the Quidditch pitch, eager to see what strategies each rival team had in store for the other.

As we rounded a corner, I caught sight of a small group of Slytherin students, gathered in a circle talking to Urquhart, the current Captain of the Slytherin team. Within the small group, I spotted the likes of Blaise Zabini, Terence Higgs, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Adrian Pucey, and a couple others that I didn't recognize. They all seemed extremely concerned, but it wasn't soon after our arrival Pansy noticed Harry and me watching them. "There he is! There's the Potter boy!"

The entire group turned to gaze at us, intense looks of anger and contempt on their faces. "What's going on here?" I asked nervously.

Blaise crossed his arms. "Why don't you ask Potter there?" he growled, his ice-cold stare landing on Harry. "I'm sure he could tell you _exactly_ what's going on." The other Slytherins looked on in distaste.

Harry glanced from one student to the other, before finally speaking to Urquhart directly. "I swear on the name of Godric Gryffindor, I do not know what is going on," he said forcefully, raising his right hand. "Now, let us through to the Quidditch pitch, or I'll hex every last one of you."

Urquhart narrowed his eyes, completely unfazed by Harry's threat. "Didn't you hear already, Potter? There isn't going to be a match today," he replied. "It has been postponed until further notice. Now, I would highly recommend that you and your friend to go on back to Gryffindor Tower. Now."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "No match? Why not? We can't cancel Quidditch."

Adrian, who I recognized as the seventh-year Chaser for Slytherin's team, scoffed. "Well, we can't exactly play without our Seeker, Potter. You should know that, seeing as _you're_ the slick git who put him in the infirmary in the first place."

At his words, my eyes widened, and I heard Pansy let out a loud sniffle. "Malfoy's in the infirmary?" I asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"Potter's put a curse on him, that's what happened!" Pansy shouted angrily, pointing straight at Harry and scrunching up her pug face into a scowl. "He'll never admit he did it, of course, but we_ all_ know the truth. Potter cursed Draco!" She got nods of agreement from every single one of her fellow Slytherins.

Harry began to protest, but before he could speak a single word, I grabbed him by the arm and hauled him away from the malicious group of Slytherins, knowing that it wouldn't do him any good to stand there and argue with them...somebody was bound to get hexed one way or another. "Ignore them," I muttered. "They're just trying to make trouble."

Harry wrenched his arm away. "Why would they think I did something?" he exclaimed. "I've not seen Malfoy for days!"

I shrugged, but what he said was true, of course. Draco and Harry made a point of staying far, far away from one another as often as they could. The times that we would run into the Slytherin boy and his goons were quite unfortunate indeed, but they were pretty rare. I knew that whatever _had_ happened to Draco Malfoy, Harry sure as hell didn't have anything to do with it.

"Come on," I said, ignoring his question. "We should pay our respects. Lend him some moral support"

Harry folded his arms stubbornly. "You assume I even _have_ an ounce of respect for that foul-mouthed, panty-dropping, dark-magic-obsessed, foolish, evil, lying, wart on a big hippogriff's a-"

"Do not make me hex _you_ now, Harry James Potter!" I shouted, shooting him a deathly glare. "Now, come on! We'll be in and out in five minutes, you can be sure of that!"

Harry groaned, but decided not to press the matter any further. He followed behind me as I walked briskly toward the infirmary, with nothing but the image of an injured Draco Malfoy in my head. I was more scared for him than I'd bothered to let on, but truthfully, I was extremely worried. Possibilities regarding what had happened to him bounced around inside my mind, each more terrifying than the last. But I ignored them and gathered my bearings, pushing on.

The moment Harry and I entered the infirmary, I was met with an unexpected sight. More people than I had thought were standing around, looking at one another nervously. Slytherins, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and even a few Gryffindors alike stood near Draco's hospital bed, none of them bothering to speak a single word. I spotted Professor McGonagall having an intense conversation with Madam Pomfrey, most likely about Draco. Professor Dumbledore stood at the foot of Draco's bed, seemingly staring at something. Severus Snape was also present, but he wasn't really doing anything. In fact, he looked as if he was trying to ignore everyone else, or maybe pretend he wasn't there. I walked straight up to McGonagall. "Professor, what's happened here?"

McGonagall glanced at Draco remorsefully. "Ah, Miss Granger, the boy has been cursed. It is unknown who allowed such a thing to happen, but it has. And he is in very grave danger."

I walked over to the side of Draco's bed, looking down at him. His face was paler than normal, his eyes were closed, and his hands were covered in what looked to me like bruises. I slowly brushed a strand of white-blonde hair out of his eyes, feeling the pain well up in my chest. "What was it?"

"A ring," I heard Dumbledore say. "He had a ring in his possession, Miss Granger. One that he acquired from an enemy of ours, I believe."

I glanced over at Snape, but he was still refusing to look at anyone.

"Professor," Parvati Patil piped up. "There's a name on the wrappings that the ring came in." She picked up a piece of wrinkled parchment with a string dangling from it.

At her words, McGonagall's eyes grew wide. "Who?" she asked. "Who was it meant for, Miss Patil?"

Parvati's sister, Padma, leaned over her shoulder. "It was addressed to you, Headmaster," she said solemnly, glancing up at Dumbledore.

There were a few scattered gasps among the students, including myself, but Dumbledore barely showed any reaction at all. "I see."

"If I may interject, Albus," Snape said slowly, "I do not believe that this is the work of Draco Malfoy. He is powerful, that much has always been clear to me, but not powerful enough to contain this level of advanced magic within a common item such as this."

Dumbledore studied what appeared to be the cursed ring, which he was levitating in mid air. "I must agree with you, Severus," he murmured. "This is the work of a force much more dark and powerful than our young Mr. Malfoy."

"Who could it be, Professor?" Ernie Macmillan asked nervously, looking around at his fellow Hufflepuffs. "Who could have done something like this?"

"A betrayer amongst us?" added Cho Chang, still clad in her Quidditch robes.

A couple of distraught Slytherins glared accusingly at Harry, and I sent them daggers.

Dumbledore didn't notice, and regarded his students. "How and why this has happened, I cannot say," he replied. "But I can tell each and every one of you that, until this mystery is resolved, you all should remain very wary. Don't give anyone a reason to harm you until we learn who has done this."

I saw Harry glance at me worriedly. He knew that every single year since we'd arrived, there was some sort of danger that had befallen Hogwarts...and most of the time, that danger involved the Dark Lord Voldemort, or the many people associated with him. During the events of the past few years and Voldemort's second rise to power, many witches and wizards, younger and older, had been petrified, attacked, manipulated, targeted, put into terrible danger, and in the case of Cedric Diggory, murdered in cold blood. Now Draco's safety was at the forefront of everyone's attention, and I couldn't have been more worried for him than I was in that moment.

As I dropped to my knees, inspecting the bruises on the palms of his hands, McGonagall spoke softly to me. "Miss Granger. I received a tip from an anonymous bystander. Mr. Malfoy allegedly had the ring in his possession when he entered The Three Broomsticks," she said. "The package was seen on his person, and when asked what it was, he said nothing and ran away, apparently quite agitated. He knew it was cursed."

I looked up at my professor, intending to say something, when the sound of the infirmary doors crashing open nearly made me jump out of my skin. The crowd of students parted, and to my dismay, the faces of Pansy Parkinson and the rest of her Slytherin friends came into my view. She was out of breath and wailing, but the moment she laid her eyes on me, her face hardened. "What's she doing here?!" Pansy shrieked.

"Miss Granger arrived here not long before yourself, Miss Parkinson," Snape drawled, already seeming uninterested in the conversation.

I slowly got to my feet and glared at her. "And what is _your_ business here?" I asked shakily.

Pansy narrowed her eyes. "For your information, Mudblood, I happen to be Draco's girlfriend!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several people, including Dumbledore and McGonagall, flinch at her use of the Mudblood slur. Opting to ignore it, I shot back, "Well, _I_ happen to be Draco's...friend."

Pansy snorted. "Why would Draco want to speak to, let alone be friends with a dirty-blooded wench like yourself?" she demanded. "Or a horde of blood traitors like the Weasley clan?" I spotted Ginny pulling out her fists, with Dean Thomas and Ron attempting to hold her back. "Surely, he doesn't find you _that_ interesting!"

"You don't know that," I replied.

"And I suppose you find him fascinating as well, do you?" Pansy continued, gesturing wildly with her hands. "Now that your friend Potter has dealt him the final blow he needed, and poor Draco's life is on the line?"

"Harry didn't do this!" I shouted angrily. "And for the record, Pansy, I've always found him interesting!"

The moment those words escaped my mouth, I wished that I could take them right back. _Nobody_ knew that I harbored any sort of affection for the Malfoy boy...not until now, anyway. I peered cautiously at the people around me, gauging their reactions; I did notice that I got a few curious glances from my classmates, as well as a huge smile from McGonagall and a moderately surprised reaction from Snape, but Pansy didn't seem to notice any of that. "Granger, you're nothing but an insufferable, dirty-blooded battleax," she growled. "Everyone here knows it. It's about time you did, too."

I crossed my arms, managing to bite back a snarky remark and stay quiet. McGonagall glanced my way, a concerned look on her stern face.

After a moment, Pansy let a smile appear on her lips. "Nothing to say, have you? That's more like it." She bent down next to Draco and patted his hand. "Don't you worry, Draco. I'm here. Everything will be fine."

To my surprise, Draco began to stir at her words. He didn't wake or open his eyes, but softly mumbled in his sleep instead. The sound was barely audible, but as soon as it happened, every bit of chatter within the small crowd of students ceased. Draco's fingers twitched, and his hand curled around Pansy's. "Uhmm-mer-eeeee."

"See?" Pansy hissed at me. "He knows I'm here. He doesn't care about you."

A couple of tears prickled at the corner of my eyes, and I silently willed them not to fall. To my chagrin, they didn't obey.

"That's enough, Miss Parkinson," McGonagall scolded. "Quite enough!"

"I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry," Pansy murmured to Draco, completely ignoring McGonagall. "I'm staying right here with you."

From the bed, Draco let out another soft, unintelligible mumble. "Morr-hiii-meee...ohhh-miiirrreeh. Heerr-mii-neeee."

The moment I heard my name emanate from the mouth of the unconscious Slytherin, my heart dropped to the floor and I felt my throat begin to tighten up. _Did I hear that correctly? No. I couldn't have. It simply can't be._

A slew of startled gasps reached my ears. Several students were looking from me to Draco in utter shock, McGonagall's hand clamped over her heart, and Dumbledore looked like a proud father at a Quidditch match, watching his grandchild score for the very first time. Madam Pomfrey's usually stony face had morphed into a grin, and my heart swelled. No way had I heard him wrong, based on the reactions of those nearest to me.

Pansy, however, reacted quite the opposite way. A growl made its way from her throat, she stood up with hate and rage burning in her eyes, and I swore I saw steam coming out of her ears. "You'll pay for this, Mudblood!" she snarled, raising her wand.

I stepped back, holding my hands up in surrender and feeling another tear fall. "I did nothing!"

"You _stole_ him from me! You did! I'll curse you, you filthy Muggle wretch!" Pansy screeched, pointing her wand straight at me. "_Rictusem-_"

"_PROTEGO!_ That's enough!"

The deep, loud voice came out of what seemed like nowhere, and before I even had a chance to process what was happening, a large clear shield appeared directly in front of me, protecting me from Pansy's spell. The jet of red light from her wand bounced off the shield and hit her right in the chest, knocking her to the floor. She groaned, and I turned around to see who had come to my aid and cast the Shield Charm.

To my surprise, it was Professor Snape who stepped forward, his wand at his side. "Miss Parkinson, you know that you are forbidden to hex your fellow classmates," he said sternly. "The punishment for such an act is a month's detention and 50 points from your House. Now, get out of here at once. You have caused enough trouble as it is."

Pansy scrambled to her feet fearfully and scuttled away without another word, and I noticed that McGonagall looked to Snape with pure admiration and appreciation as he took another step toward the rest of the students. "As for the rest of you, run along back to your Houses. There's no need to stand here and gawk. As you can see, Mr. Malfoy is perfectly well-tended. Now away you go. Now!"

At Snape's gruff command, the crowd scattered, slipping from the room without so much as whispers. As the room cleared, Dumbledore approached Harry and spoke. "About time for a bit of House unity, don't you think, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. Dumbledore gave him a nod, and motioned Professor McGonagall away from Draco's bed. The two professors left the room, with Snape quietly skulking off behind them. Harry glanced over at me, and I was surprised to see a teasing smile across his lips, rather than an angry frown. I rolled my eyes in his direction. "Oh, shut up."

Harry chuckled, and without another word, he turned and strode away. I sat down on the edge of Draco's bed, taking his hand gently in mine. Though I wanted him to get rest and heal himself, a part of me couldn't wait for him to come to. I wanted to talk to him, to see his mischievous grey eyes open once again. But more than anything, I couldn't wait for him to awaken for another reason.

To see his confusion regarding what the bloody hell was going on.

And I'll admit that the thought brought a smile to my tearstained face.


End file.
